Finally got to scan the rest of my Direct Positive Portraits of the Marines in Afghan

I was sent to Afghanistan unexpectedly and was able to take my camera gear with me. One of the cameras I brought with me was a Sinar F2 large format film camera. So I shot a slew of these little 4x5" photos. About half of them came out with a useable photo, and the Marines loved getting to see them when they were done. They all also came out looking like they were made on copper plates. I'm not sure why, but I like how that worked out.

I also shot normal film portraits, but have not had the time to develop them yet.

I used standard Kodak paper chemicals, but did not wash them between the developer or fixer. And only did a very short final wash. Kind of limited on what I can pull off in Afghanistan...

Originally Posted by troyholden

These are great! Both the final photographs and the portraits themselves. Look forward to seeing more of these.

Thanks! Half of them don't scan due to the metallic reflection, and these are very bad scans. In person they have so much more detail. I tried to just let the Marines do what they wanted. No posing. If the wanted to ham it up I figured why not? We almost never get to.

I have some 4x5's shot on Potra 160, and some B&W photos. I also have some 4x5's I shot with a speed graphic and flashbulbs while flying over Afghanistan. We'll see how they turned out when I get a chance to develop them...